Gorgeous art, great music, lots of cute lil characters with cool or creepy bosses to balance it all out, and absolutely bursting with content. One of the best cases of ‘bang for your buck’ ever! Nevertheless, I’d not say this game struck me as a masterpiece or left any strong impression on me. The journey towards the true ending was a great time, and it has a truly soulslike quality to the bosses where overcoming them after a lot of struggles feels extremely satisfying. It was a quality time, but it never went anywhere beyond that. I think the only time I felt something stir in me was in the city of tears (if that’s what it was called) and then it never quite managed to hit that again.

It reminded me of Dark Souls in that sense. Many claim it a masterpiece, and though I enjoyed it greatly, I never really saw what’s supposed to make it a masterpiece. It decidedly just comes down to what I look for in stories, worlds and in games as a whole, and that’s fine. I’m glad I got to enjoy the ride and I will gladly hop on again with Silksong, whenever that eventually releases.

The 2010's decade in gaming history will go down as the era of indie games' renaissance. While they had always been around, this decade saw a massive rise in popularity and prominence, with some of the best examples arguably surpassing contemporary AAA games, especially in terms of style, substance, and soul. And with the dust now settled, no game embodies these core tenets quite like Hollow Knight, more colloquially known as "peak."

Shrunken down settings with bug characters are always fun, combining with the somber, melancholic world and vibes to create a wonderful and unique aesthetic. I can't emphasize enough just how beautiful the world of Hallownest is. The lonely Metroidvania sense of mystery is fully present, filled with hostile and dangerous bugs, and more than its fair share of just weird little guys. A high level of challenge and difficulty adds to the immersion of exploring an ancient underground kingdom, making the brief respite from the rest benches interspersed throughout feel so serene. Hollow Knight is light on characters with speaking roles, but most of the characters with dialogue have dark bodies and white masks, a really cool aesthetic.

Finding a friendly bug in Hollow Knight might not be a common occurrence, but the NPCs are so filled with personality that each one leaves an impression. My favorite might be the old stag, he's a homie. The gibberish spoken in this game is weirdly quotable for a fake language. (Ah, bapa nada....) The player is literally dropped into the world with basically no exposition aside from some cryptic stone monuments to read, and a little town with almost no residents left. It is unclear throughout most of the game what exactly happened to Hallownest, but there were few survivors and most of them come in the form of enemies hostile to The Knight. Even the ending(s) of the game are vague, most lore can easily go over the player's head, meant to be pieced together figured out primarily on a show-not-tell basis.

For many players however, none of that story mumbo jumbo really matters, as a Metroidvania like Hollow Knight should be judged foremost on its gameplay. Combat feels smooth, responsive, and excellent. Mastering the art of wielding the nail feels like a rewarding playthrough-long journey. Getting above enemies and using the nail to bounce off them like a pogo stick is especially fun, and there are even spells to facilitate alternate playstyles. Further customization exists in the form of findable and equip-able charms, basically classic Paper Mario-style badges that can vastly alter how players approach the game. Everything from a longer nail, to a defensive shell, to little minions assisting The Knight in fighting enemies and more. This game is difficult enough that the player will be encouraged to switch up their charms to tackle different challenges. The other key attribute of a great Metroidvania is movement. Genre staples like dashing and wall jumping feel as good as ever here, and being able to implement these in combat with the ability to swing the nail in any direction make for a smooth and satisfying experience.

The Metroidvania sub-genre had for 20+ years been defined (and named after) 90s all-time greats Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Hollow Knight feels like the first true contender for best Metroidvania since these, and much of the argument to set it apart rests on the insane quality of this game's boss fights. There are over forty in total, and the majority are memorable and outstanding. The battles vs recurring character Hornet feel like a true clash of equals (and her mid-fight voice lines are great), and the Dung Defender is a genuinely funny and highly creative encounter. Some of the finest examples of fighting multiple foes at once in a boss fight are featured as well, especially The Mantis Lords. Defeating the first mantis 1v1 only to have the other two watching in the background both stand up together is so badass. It is such a dopamine rush to learn these boss' pattern on the fly and alternate the rhythm between dodging their attacks and weaving in strikes of your own when possible. When executed to perfection, it feels more like a dance than a fight, in the best way possible. There are too many examples of these fights that would be easy contenders for best boss encounters in most games, but I need to give extra shout outs to the thrill of the Soul Master's surprise second form just when you thought you were victorious, and a particular admiration for my ghoulish goth icon Grimm. Added as DLC to be one of the hardest boss battles in the game, Grimm's battle and moveset feels like a quintessential boss fight, the sort of thing that should be taught in a class on how to design good games.

If I had a nail to my head, forced to pick a legitimate flaw with Hollow Knight, I may end up a spirit. But the usual suspect is having to purchase maps from cartographer Cornifer to actually see the map of an area. This is a style of game that can be easy to get lost in, and an in-game map is almost always a given in the 21st century. It can no doubt be a struggle for those yet to be acclimated to Hollow Knight, but for me though, this complaint falls on deaf ears. The maps are still there for those willing to take a short detour back to Dirtmouth, getting lost at least a few times in a Metroidvania is just an accepted part of the experience. And back in my day we were drawing maps ourselves with pencil and paper to attempt to help navigate in these darned games anyway.

Didn't know where else to put this, but I absolutely adore the scene where The Knight sits with Quirrel at the edge of the Blue Lake. Its quiet and bittersweet, but I felt like I could stay for a long time. There are countless points on my playthrough where I stopped for a while to admire the scenery or listen to the rain, like when arriving in the City of Tears for the first time, a lovely cozy experience.

In the modern dystopian gaming hellscape of AAA titles trying too hard to essentially be hyper-realistic interactive cutscenes, a lot of major releases can feel pretty soulless. This makes creative titles made with heart like Hollow Knight that much more refreshing, our unexpected 5-star savior isn't from some storied studio or legacy franchise, but a small independent team from Australia. "Masterpiece" is a word often thrown around too freely, but it absolutely applies here. Team Cherry fired on all cylinders to deliver a visually and musically incredible experience, I consider it to be the GOTY for 2017 and easily one of the very best I've ever played.

5.0/5.0


- My brother claims that he went into The Mantis Lords fight completely blind, and beat it first try while only getting hit once. I don't have a reason to doubt him, but that's some serious gamer credentials.

- I once did a makeup look designed to look like Grimm because I'm a loser.